In the last 24 hours, approximately $270 million in ETH long positions were liquidated. Despite the overall downturn in the cryptocurrency market on Thursday morning, certain altcoins have experienced more significant declines than their counterparts, with the largest among them facing notable challenges. ETH has recently declined to $2,315, reflecting a decrease of $200 for the day. This represents the lowest price point since the breakout rally that occurred in mid-August. The factors contributing to the overall market crash are indeed varied, as previously noted. They encompass the extensive downturn in Asia, exemplified by KOSPI’s 8% drop and the 6% decrease in the Nikkei, alongside macroeconomic pressures stemming from yesterday’s CPI announcement and new reports indicating that the US might be advancing a larger non-nuclear weapon aimed at Iran.
For ETH, however, there exist certain isolated factors. For instance, the open interest surged yesterday following the slightly higher-than-anticipated CPI reading. Source reported that “a lot of shorts” emerged that “piled into the downside momentum.” Moreover, they were “sitting comfy and steady,” leaving little room for a short squeeze. Separately, one of the largest market makers, Wintermute, continues to expand its short positions in ETH. Onchain Lens observed that the company presently possesses $75 million in short positions on Hyperliquid, with ETH being one of the most significant holdings.
The other reason centred around ETH stemmed from the ETFs. After experiencing nearly $25 million in net inflows on Tuesday, the funds saw a reversal yesterday, with approximately $130 million exiting. The building open interest and extreme price movements resulted in an anticipated increase in the total liquidated positions throughout the market. The situation for ETH is indeed more dire, as it sets the trend. Data indicates that $293 million in leveraged positions has been eliminated over the past 24 hours. Naturally, the predominant portion is derived from longs (92%). BTC ranks second, with a valuation of $203 million.
